East of England Ambulance Service thanks military volunteers to mark Armed Forces Day

The service which covers Bedfordshire, employs armed forces veterans, supports reservists and works closely with military co-responders.

There are five active tri-service co-responder teams across the region, including one based at the Royal Air Force station in Henlow.

So far during the calendar year co-responder teams have attended 1,261 incidents, volunteered 3,565 hours and arrived first at 88 per cent of incidents.

The co-responders operate in EEAST vehicles and wear the ambulance trust’s uniforms while on call.

They attend life-threatening emergencies and in rural areas reached patients before ambulances in 74 per cent of the most urgent calls, classed as category one.

Last month, they helped reduce EEAST’s average response time to category one incidents by six seconds.

EEAST chief executive Neill Moloney said: “Our military colleagues and EEAST staff share a strong commitment to serving the public, often in very challenging situations.

“We thank them for their dedication to their communities."

Celebrated annually, Armed Forces Day provides an opportunity for the nation to show their appreciation of and support for the armed forces.

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